Pride goeth…

Hot days hinted at the promise of summer. The Alone Girl was approaching a crossroads. High school would soon be over. And then what? Thrusting those thoughts aside, she turned her attention to the night. The air was crisp with an underlying earthy smell. It was the fragrance of promise and growth.

The Girl stopped to collect an acquaintance and they were off to enjoy themselves. A large part of her life at this stage involved walking to destinations near and far. One didn’t arrive at a party on one’s ten-speed though it was not unknown to the Girl. The twilight descended as the two young ladies traversed neighborhoods, their shoes making little to no noise. Giggles and mumbling proclaimed their passage.

At last they sensed unmistakable signs of the fun to come. Laughter and music spilled from a brightly lit house just down the street. The Alone Girl shivered, whether from anticipation or the cool evening, with the assurance of fun to come. And yet, she grinned as she hastily recalled her mother’s admonition to wear a jacket. Maybe she would heed such advice in the future.

Their quiet sojourn erupted into the controlled melee of the backyard beer party. Greetings flew through the air across the bunches of revelers. Older kids were home from college for the summer and kids like the Alone Girl were filled with a mixture of excitement and trepidation for what was to come.

The Alone Girl stopped to greet one of her friends who was attached to the hip of her boyfriend, he just home from college. The Girl knew he was home for just a short time as he was obligated to complete a summer program. He was resplendent in his college jacket. A grinning boy, unknown to the Girl, approached the trio with a fistful of dripping beer cups, wearing an identical college jacket.

The smiling fellow was introduced. He’d lived in town as a kid but his family moved. They were now moving back and he was there to complete some house projects before he left for his summer program. For the first time in her life, the Girl descended into that magical moment when time stands still and everything blurs outside of a five foot radius surrounding a girl and a boy. Was it the first blush of romance?

The Girl shivered. The young man, in as gallant a manner as any knight of the famed Roundtable, removed his jacket and placed it over her shoulders. It was a fantastical moment, one the Girl would always remember. They chatted the evening away until friends dropped them at the Girl’s house. Turns out the boy’s family was moving in around the corner.

The two giggled in the front yard, tipsy from the beer and perhaps their budding romance. A respectable, but promising, kiss ensued and the two laughed as the Girl pointed him in the direction of his home. The Girl later felt it was just like the “Some Enchanted Evening” scene from South Pacific.

I wish I could say this had a happy ending because it could have and, likely, should have. But it didn’t. Several dates between the two ensued though the boy was seldom home due to college commitments. Several months later the Girl avoided his calls during the holiday break. Why, you ask? Pride, pure and simple. The Girl was uncomfortable because the boy, as lovely and kind as a boy could be, was shorter than she.

Seriously? And thus the logic of youth spoiled something promising. Could he have been the one? Most likely, but the Girl, not yet emotionally equipped to move past superficiality, would never know. Still, she was glad for that one fantastical evening.

“Who can explain it?/Who can tell you why?/Fools give you reasons.” from Some Enchanted Evening. Song by Rodgers and Hammerstein.

More the fool was She.